


you and i (we don't wanna be like them)

by comebackbehere



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 21:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15614949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comebackbehere/pseuds/comebackbehere
Summary: The Framework pulls Daisy and Jemma in, and they're utterly shocked to see where they end up.





	you and i (we don't wanna be like them)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I've decided to post all the fics I have locked away, and this was number one on the list. Hope y'all enjoy.

“Mommy!”

 

Jemma wakes with a start as a small form crawls up the length of her legs and tiny, sticky hands cup her face. The sunlight filters into her room and she squints in an attempt to ignore it, block it out. But that doesn’t happen, not when a small finger lifts her eyelid and she is met with dark eyes and messy blonde bed head. Immediately, a smile pulls at her lips because this feels familiar; the way she sits up and curls her arms tightly around a child she has never seen before seems more familiar than anything she has experienced since she joined SHIELD.

 

Something deep in her thrums alive, like a well tuned engine that just knows how to go without being prompted. As she cradles the little girl in her arms, the sleep slowly leaving both of their bodies, Jemma takes a moment to catch up with herself as it dawns on her that she made it. She’s in the Framework, she has a child in the Framework. A breath of surprise leaves her by how real it all feels, by how _comfortable_ it is. The sheets feel cool as they slip along her skin and she can feel each breath her daughter takes as she cuddles closer to her mother in search of warmth.

 

“Hello.” Jemma whispers.

 

“Can we make panny cakes, Mommy?”

 

Jemma clears her throat, “Sure, uh...little one.”

 

“Yay!”

 

Just like that, the child is off her legs and runs out of the room with an excited whoop. As she sits there, her arms still poised to hold the little girl, Jemma looks around in an attempt to make sense of where she is. The first thing she notices is the ring on her finger and the picture frames that line the shelves. As she slides off the bed to investigate, the bathroom door flies open and she spins on her heels to meet the shocked, confused gaze of Daisy who stands in a pair of loose pajamas with damp hair.

 

The way her heart speeds up makes her cheeks burn because this is something she has imagined late at night when she’s tucked away in her bunk. She has pictured waking up to Daisy a thousand different times, but never in this way. She is supposed to roll over into Daisy’s arms and listen to their team ready for their morning on the other side of their door. But here? Here she can make out the sound of her child loudly singing off key to a song while the birds chirp outside. Here? Well, here everything is fake. Here she can’t wake up with silent disappointment and continue on with her because _here_ Daisy is waking up to the same thing she is.

 

“D-Daisy?”

 

“Based on that look of confusion, I’m going to guess it’s...you. Like, real you.” Daisy breathes out as she takes a hesitant step forward. “Please tell me you’re the real Simmons.”

 

“I-I am? I mean, I _am_.” Jemma nods as she cards a hand through her bed head. “Daisy, what are you doing here? Where’s Fitz?”

 

“Fitz?” Daisy frowns.

 

“I’m married. I have a _child_.” Jemma hisses as she takes a step forward. “I kind of figured that this life would include Fitz.”

 

“Well, sorry to disappoint,” Daisy drawls as she quickly lifts her hand to flash her wedding band. “I think you married the wrong teammate.”

 

Jemma isn’t shocked when the world goes black and she hits the ground.

 

-

 

“...her sleep…”

 

“...cakes, Mama!”

 

“Shh, kiddo.”

 

Jemma once again opens her eyes and stares up at the white ceiling as she tries to clear her head. With a frown, Jemma rolls her head to see Daisy sitting with the little girl in her lap as they both gaze down at an iPhone screen. A warmth spreads through her as she takes in the scene before her, and she shifts in bed as she balances her weight on her elbow to simply enjoy the moment. Daisy turns her head to flash her a small almost sympathetic smile as she bounces her lap until the child follows her line of sight and smiles brightly.

 

“Mommy, you’re awake!”

 

“Finally. We were getting worried. Weren’t we getting worried, _Evie_?” Daisy hums, and she widens her eyes as she catches Jemma’s confused gaze. “I think now that your mom is awake, we can finally get those pancakes made.”

 

“Can I wear my apron?” Evie chirps.

 

“Of course, duck. Go get your apron and we’ll meet you downstairs soon.” Daisy assures her as she lifts Evie to set her safely on the floor. “Give us five minutes, okay?”

 

Evie nods excitedly, “One whole hand? Got it!”

 

Daisy grins after their daughter, _their_ daughter, and Jemma swallows hard in awe. She can’t believe that this is where she ended up, in a spot that she has dreamt about many times. With a hesitant hand, Jemma reaches out towards Daisy and releases a shuddering breath as she brushes her fingertips against the warm skin of Daisy’s thigh. It’s so _real._  All of this, this mess of a false reality, makes her head spin with utter want.

 

“We have a kid.” Daisy breathes out.

 

Jemma pulls her hand back slowly, “We do.”

 

“Her name is Eveline, but she goes by Evie.” Daisy mumbles as she stares down at her lap. “Her favorite color is red, she was just telling me how we told her we could repaint her dollhouse red. She’s our kid, Jemma.”

 

“I know.”

 

“She’s our whole world.” Daisy murmurs with a small half smile. “Our house is a shrine to her, Jemma. We have a fridge full of her drawings and a house stacked with photos of her. And my Instagram? Yeah, she’s got me wrapped around her finger.”

 

Jemma bites her lip to keep her questions at bay as Daisy lazily tosses her iPhone on the bed with her Instagram on display. For the whole world to see, the page is dedicated solely to a life that they have apparently built together. From the first date at a crappy bar to a snapshot from yesterday of Jemma and Evie covered in mud. They look so _happy,_ free of the world that lingers in the back of both of their minds; here they have found a beautiful peace with an equally beautiful present and future.

 

“You carried her.” Daisy adds in with a nod towards the phone. “I have over fourteen posts of just your baby bump.”

 

Jemma licks her lips, “She’s darling.”

 

“She’s _ours_.” Daisy scoffs as she finally turns her head to catch Jemma’s gaze. “She has your smile and laugh, and when she talks...Jemma, it reminds me of myself. And she’s smart. Wickedly smart. She’s four, and apparently begs us for a little brother every morning and…”

 

“Daisy, this is a lot to take in.” Jemma jumps in.

 

Daisy settles, “I’m sorry. I know. I didn’t mean to just unload on you like that. It’s just...she’s our kid, Jemma. Like, she’s _ours_. Look at what we could have if we weren’t a part of SHIELD.”

 

“Daisy,” Jemma flushes at how excited the other woman seems. “This isn’t...this world isn’t real. _Evie_ isn’t real.”

 

“But she could be…”

 

“Please.” Jemma hisses, and her voice breaks as her eyes well. “Daisy, _please_. Right now we need to focus on the mission, we need to focus on getting out of the Framework and back home.”

 

“We could be awesome, Jemma.” Daisy murmurs as she slides off the bed. “You and I? We could build an entire world together if we just...tried. But you’re right, let’s get home.”

 

Jemma watches as Daisy leaves the room and she falls back onto the mattress as she hears giggles and playful screams. This isn’t her world, this isn’t her life. The ring on her finger is fake and the child downstairs is merely a fantasy that her mind has drawn up. All she can do now is focus on freeing herself, of getting back to _her_ world. As hard as it’ll be, Jemma refuses to let herself be sucked into this reality, she knows she won’t survive it if she gets attached and then pulled away.

 

-

 

Jemma tries to keep the day productive, tries to get Daisy’s head in the game, but she fails. A distraction in the form of a four-year-old keeps hold of them for the entire afternoon; they kick a soccer ball in the backyard, draw chalk figures on the sidewalks, and set up a picnic in the gardens for lunch. In between the laughter and domestic bliss, Jemma forgets. Her mind cuts out the image of Fitz, tears through the memories of May and Coulson, and rips apart the parts of her that keep Yoyo and Mack close. All she sees now is her girls, all she can focus on is wiping peanut butter from the corner of Evie’s mouth and trading smiles with Daisy.

 

“Mama, come do cartwheels!” Evie orders.

 

Daisy laughs as she brushes crumbs from her lap, “I don’t think doing cartwheels is a good idea, duck. I’m gonna break a hip.”

 

“You must be careful with your mama, Evie,” Jemma smirks. “She’s so _old_ now, I’m afraid she really might break something if she has too much fun.”

 

“Is that a challenge?” Daisy scoffs.

 

“Me? Challenge you?” Jemma hums as she gracefully stands. “Darling, I could easily beat you in a cartwheel contest. I’ll have you know that I did four years of gymnastics.”

 

“Oh God. How cliché.” Daisy snorts even as she shrugs off her jacket. “I raise you four years in gymnastics with my _six_ in karate followed by two years of voice lessons.”

 

“What does voice lessons have to do with cartwheels, Daisy?” Jemma giggles.

 

“It has _everything_ to do with cartwheels. Well, somehow it does.” Daisy scowls. “We’re can do the ABC’s while doing the cartwheels. Prepare to be amazed, Mrs. Johnson.”

 

Jemma sucks in a breath at Daisy’s nonchalant tone and she freezes in place as she watches her wife and daughter. With a small smile, she tilts her head in amusement as Daisy fumbles through a few cartwheels before she catches her groove and manages to spit out the ABC’s. Jemma gives a sarcastic slow clap as Daisy completes her little show with a dramatic flare of falling on her butt with her arms thrown up in the air. Evie squeals in happiness as she races across the yard to fall safely in Jemma’s lap, and a sigh of happiness leaves her as she presses a kiss to Evie’s head.

 

“Hi, Mommy.”

 

“Hello, little bird,” Jemma smiles. “Do you think your mama did a good job with those cartwheels? Or do you think I can beat her?”

 

“You can beat her!” Evie cheers.

 

“Then that is what I shall do, little bird.” Jemma chuckles as she stands and sets Evie on her feet. “I don’t think you’re ready for this, Daisy. I’m about to absolutely amaze you.”

 

Daisy smiles from the grass, “You always do.”

 

Jemma tucks away the small comment and focuses on propelling herself into graceful cartwheels. She feels the grass slip between the slots of her fingers and the sun warming through the skin; it’s so foreign from the coldness of the plane. After a moment, her arms grow limp and she giggles as she flops weakly into a heap with her arms and legs sprawled around her. It isn’t long till she is tackled by Evie and Daisy, and her laughter bubbles as her daughter blows kisses against her cheeks.

 

“Mama won! Mama won!”

 

“What? No way! My flop was legendary.” Jemma protests. “I think I won, little bird. What do you think, Daisy? Did I win?”

 

“I think your mom had one up on me, duck.” Daisy nods. “As much as it hurts to admit, I think your mommy beat me.”

 

“Yes!” Jemma squeals.

 

“But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget you falling on your butt like that.” Daisy laughs softly as Jemma flushes in embarrassment.

 

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

 

Daisy smirks, “Nope. You’ll be hearing about it forever, Jems.”

 

“Forever is a long time.” Jemma points out.

 

“How long is forever?” Evie demands.

 

“Forever? Well, forever is…forever long.” Daisy chuckles. “Forever is how long I’m going to love your mom, duck. And forever is how long I’m going to tease her about falling on her butt.”

 

Evie scrunches her nose, “Are you going to love _me_ forever?”

 

Daisy ducks her head as her face falls, “Of course, duck.”

 

“What about you, Mommy? Are you gonna love me and mama forever?” Evie asks as she tilts her head up to grin at Jemma.

 

“Yes, little bird,” Jemma whispers, and she can feel her eyes well with tears. “I’m going to love you and your mama forever.”

 

If only forever could exist for them.

 

-

 

“One story?”

 

“What would you like to read?” Daisy asks.

 

Try as they might, Daisy and Jemma can’t seem to keep away from exploring this world with Evie. They catch themselves slipping into these foreign roles and entertaining thoughts that shouldn’t exist. Jemma sighs softly as Daisy once again falls for Evie’s little pout and immediately does what is asked of her. She isn’t surprised, she’s done the same thing. Sue her for being a sucker for those dark eyes that beg for her to play, beg for a snack, beg for a cuddle. She can’t help but selfishly spend as much time with Evie as she can, she only knows she has so long before she has to let go.

 

“Princess!” Evie exclaims as she races to her toy corner to grab a worn book. “Read it in your funny voice, Mama. Please!”

 

“Ugh. So demanding.” Daisy whines, but she is quick to wink at her daughter. “But I can’t tell you no so let’s see what you got.”

 

“Good, good, good.”

 

Daisy snorts, “You sound like your mom.”

 

“You always says I’m the spitting image of her, Mama.” Evie reminds her as she drops heavily into Daisy’s lap. “Read?”

 

“Hey, I have an idea,” Daisy begins as she carefully takes the book from Evie’s grasp. “How about I tell you a story instead?”

 

“Cool!”

 

Jemma smiles at them as she disappears upstairs to collect her phone. As she walks through her bedroom, she looks to the framed photos and squeezes her eyes shut as false memories push into her brain. The world seems to tilt on its axis as she groans in discomfort and rubs tiredly at her temple; as hard as she tries, she can’t keep bits of this world from leaking into her mind. She remembers marrying Daisy, feeling the way her stomach flipped eagerly as she walked down the aisle. She can recall the pain of bringing Evie into the world, how she wailed as Daisy clutched at her hand. She feels the love, the happiness. And it pains her that none of it is truly hers to hold onto.

 

With a harsh breath, Jemma grabs her phone off the charger and turns on her heel to hurry back downstairs. The hallway is lined with more photos and she grits her teeth as a blink of a memory attacks her; all she sees is a dark room and a person strapped to a table. A laugh breaks through the cloud and Jemma skips down the stairs and stops short at the mouth of the living room as she looks into see Daisy excitedly telling Evie a story. And apparently, judging by the wide eyes and dropped jaw, the story has Evie clinging to every word falling from Daisy’s mouth.

 

“...she _jumped_ from the plane!”

 

“Mommy, you jumped from a plane?” Evie gasps as her wide, terrified eyes looks her way. “Mommy, you coulda gotten a booboo.”

 

“Daisy.” Jemma scolds as her phone vibrates happily in her hand. “Don’t you think we should refrain from telling our four-year-old stories like that, darling?”

 

Daisy pouts, “Yeah. Probably.”

 

Jemma rolls her eyes with an amused smile as she picks up her phone and quickly types in a password that somehow springs to her mind. With a sigh, Jemma cards a hand through her hair and opens her string of texts, and her face immediately loses its color as her phone falls from her grasp. The world swims around her as she stumbles forward to catch her weight on a dining room chair while she tries to calm down her racing heart. It takes a few minutes for reality to swirl back to regular speed, and she turns with a shuddery breath as she looks out to see Daisy now happily reading to Evie in a deep voice.

 

“Daisy, we have to go in…”

 

Daisy frowns as she looks up from the open fairytale book, “Go in? To where?”

 

“Work. We have...we have to go to work.” Jemma murmurs as the bile rushes up her throat. “Daisy, we have to go into work.”

 

“Okay. That’s...it’s not a big deal. I guess we can uh call Evie a babysitter.” Daisy sighs as she presses a kiss to the top of their daughter’s head. “So, uh where are we...headed?”

 

“Work.” Jemma squeaks.

 

Daisy flashes her a look of worry as she rushes to her side, “Why are you being so weird? You’re gonna freak Evie out. Jem, what...why are you so pale? What’s going on?”

 

“Daisy, we’re still agents…”

 

“Oh. Well, that’s not horrible.” Daisy shrugs with a scrunch of her nose. “I was hoping for something a little more boring, maybe a computer techie or even a teacher. That’d be cool.”

 

“We’re agents for _HYDRA,_ Daisy.” Jemma hisses, and Daisy immediately goes rigid. “I-I guess this world is overrun by HYDRA, and apparently we let ourselves be compelled to comply.”

 

“Mommy, look!”

 

Jemma turns her head to look into the innocent gaze of her daughter, takes in the gentle fall of her messy hair and excited smile, and feels her stomach churn. This isn’t real, Evie isn’t real. Her daughter is just a made up fairytale just like the book she is currently flipping through. Soon, her and Daisy will be back in their own reality and Evie will be left behind in this world built by a psychotic robot. With a hard swallow, Jemma brushes past Daisy to squat in front of Evie with a lopsided grin.

 

“Come here, little bird.” Jemma orders as she opens her eyes, and Evie gives a clumsy giggle as she falls into her arms. “Mama and I have to go into work for a few hours, okay?”

 

“Does that mean I gotta stay with Mrs. Davis again? She makes me cookies.” Evie beams, but it quickly fades to a frown. “But I don’t want you and mama to go to work. I wanna make cookies with _you_.”

 

“We’ll make cookies soon, okay?” Jemma sighs.

 

Evie groans against her neck, “Okay.”

 

“Hey, none of that pouting. We’ll be home before you even know it, babe.” Daisy assures her. “So, the faster we get out of here then the faster we can back home to you.”

 

“Pinky promise?” Evie frowns.

 

“Pinky swear, duck.” Daisy smiles. “I’m gonna go call Mrs. Davis.”

 

Jemma ducks her face to bury her nose in Evie’s curls as Daisy slips from the room. If she sits here long enough, stays in this moment, she can pretend that she isn’t going to turn herself over to HYDRA. If she tries hard enough, she can convince herself that she doesn’t work for that organization. If she just holds Evie a little tighter and breathes in the smell of her blueberry shampoo, Jemma is sure that she’ll wash away whatever job is waiting for her.

 

“I love you, Mommy.”

 

“Oh how I love you so, baby bird.” Jemma mutters as her eyes slowly flutter close. “I wish I could stay right here with you forever.”

 

-

 

Jemma leans her head against the doorframe as she watches Evie sleep. She and Daisy returned from the work to relieve the babysitter and Jemma has remained in this spot since then. She wonders how something so beautiful could be born into a world so evil, how she and Daisy could’ve built something out of their lives in this world. A warm pair of arms twist around her waist and she shudders out a strong breath as she allows her weight to fall back into Daisy’s frame.

 

Today, walking through the HYDRA headquarters and seeing who they were and what they became, makes the panic swell in her stomach. She actually tortures inhumans for a living, she destroys them and tosses them aside when she’s done. Fitz was there and May was at side, and Jemma and Daisy were left to bow at their feet. Everything is wrong, and now that she is home she is faced with everything that is _right._ Evie? Her marriage to Daisy? All those things are right, all those things keep her from triggering the button to send her back to their real world.

 

“We need to focus.” Daisy whispers.

 

Jemma nods slowly, “We do.”

 

“We gotta get back to _our_ world.” Daisy sighs as she rests her chin on Jemma’s shoulder. “As good as this, as much as I wish we could just stay, our team needs us. We’ve wasted enough time.”

 

“Do you think…” Jemma trails off as she feels her cheeks heat with a blush. “Actually, never mind. I don’t think I should ask you that.”

 

“My answer would’ve been yes.” Daisy mumbles against her shoulder. “Yes, we can have this life. There’s always a chance, but we have to go home first so we can try.”

 

“You and I.” Jemma hums. “Who would’ve thought?”

 

“I think everyone but us.” Daisy scoffs. “Think about it, everything here was designed to keep us compliant. To keep us _happy_. They created this utopia based on a world that we wanted to live, but never was offered the chance.”

 

Jemma quickly shakes her head, “I don’t want this world. I don’t want to be whoever I am here. I...I _hurt_ people.”

 

“This isn’t you, Jem. You know that. Nothing about this is us.” Daisy reminds her. “May isn’t loyal to HYDRA, she isn’t cold like that anymore. Coulson isn’t a teacher, at least not for a bunch of high school students. And Fitz? Fitz isn’t evil. He doesn’t have an evil bone in his body.”

 

“But what if this is what we’ve desired?”

 

Daisy licks her lips, “This isn’t what we’ve desired. At least not all of it.”

 

Jemma considers it for a moment, “Did you ever think about this? Us being married? Raising a beautiful little girl?”

 

“I have. I do.” Daisy admits. “When we first met, I thought about it a lot. But then Lincoln came and Fitz started things up with you...I stopped thinking about it. I didn’t think we had a chance.”

 

“And now?” Jemma asks as she struggles to turn in Daisy’s embrace. “Do you think there’s a chance for us now?”

 

“Once we’re home, I’m gonna fight like hell for our chance.” Daisy whispers as she runs a hand up to cup Jemma’s jaw. “Especially now that I know there’s a chance for this.”

 

Jemma ducks her head shyly, “You want this?”

 

“Do I want this? Do I want to call this _gorgeous_ woman in my arms my wife? Do I want to come home to a beautiful little girl every evening and listen to her call me mama?” Daisy sneers. “Yes, Jemma. _Yes_. That is exactly what I want.”

 

“I want it too…”

 

“And Fitz?” Daisy asks softly.

 

“He’ll move on, he’ll find someone who has room in their heart for him.” Jemma shrugs. “He knows. He knows where my affections rest, where they’ve rested since you walked onto the Bus with that look in your eyes that screamed absolute trouble.”

 

“Yeah, well...trouble just always seems to find me, y’know? It’s who I am.” Daisy teases, and her lips curl up as Jemma giggles. “Is that really want you want? Trouble?”

 

“I’ve always wanted it.” Jemma nods. “I’ve always wanted _you_.”

 

Jemma smiles up at Daisy, and she sees everything she has been running from. A thumb runs over the apple of her cheek and then lips settle against her own and her entire world lights up. Daisy tastes like every chance Jemma has been afraid to take, she feels like home. A tear rolls her cheeks as her hands curl around Daisy’s elbows while soft fingertips press into the line of her jaw as her back presses against the wall. Tomorrow they begin their adventure home, but for now they’re in _this_ world. _This_ is their life. And Jemma is okay with that, just for tonight she’s okay with that. A small whimper leaves her as she pulls back and flushes under the heavy gaze of Daisy’s eyes.

 

“You and me against the world, right?” Daisy smiles.

 

Jemma nods as she presses their lips together, “You and me.”

 

-

 

They make it home, they _all_ make it home. They leave behind their little girl safe and slumbering. Jemma buckles to her knees as soon as she is free of her head gear and Daisy struggles to her knees to join her. As they sit on the floor and hold each other, they realize that their team has no idea what their mourning. They have no idea what they’ve just given up. But Jemma is okay with that, that part of their world is that of their own and she doesn’t _want_ to share it. It belongs to her and Daisy, and it’s something that they’ll both cling to; it’s their remembrance that their is a chance for them, no matter what kind of circumstances are thrown their way.

 

“This is our chance.” Jemma whispers with a small, bittersweet laugh.

 

Daisy nods as she meets Jemma’s eyes, “Then let’s not waste it, but...we should probably save the world first, huh?”

 

“You and me?” Jemma asks as she hauls herself to her feet and offers her hand to Daisy.

 

“You and me.” Daisy smirks as she grabs Jemma’s hand and pulls it to her lips. “Let’s get this over with so we can get started on that future.”

 

Jemma simply smiles and squeezes Daisy’s hand; their future is at their fingertips and Jemma is ready to finally grasp onto it.


End file.
